Last month I took my annual jaunt to Tallahassee for Miami- Dade County Days – a two-day event, now in its 20th year, which showcases our county at the state capital during the Florida Legislative session. Individuals from the public and private sector met with the Miami Dade delegation and other legislators to lobby and promote issues relating to the county, our multiple cities, corporations and non-profit organizations. It's always a learning experience.

This year, the mood of the attendees was somber and all about budget cuts, just how much or how little money might be heading to Miami-Dade after the budget massacre is over. One extremely politically-savvy gentleman publicly offered that this is "the scariest government I've seen in years."

Partisan jockeying and the avoidance of urgent taxpayer issues were the talk du jour, every jour; a pending bill that would cap municipal sources of revenue was popularly labeled as unnecessary meddling into municipalities and a veiled attempt to deflect attention from the state, so cities take the heat instead.

Another hot topic was the future of termed-out Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, which provoked lively debates about his next political step, be it Miami-Dade mayor, or even governor.

Yet the actual process of electing a speaker was what tickled my fancy the most – read on.

In 2006, veteran state legislator Ken Littlefield was appointed by Governor Bush to the Florida Public Service Commission, thus prompting a special election for his replacement as state representative for his district, which covers portions of Hillsborough and Pasco County.

Republican Will Weatherford, a former aid to Speaker of the House Allen Bense, ran for the seat and readily beat his opponent, a gentleman who was Baker-acted a couple of months prior to the election on mental health issues.

In January 2007, Weatherford commenced his post as state representative, and hit the ground running. On his agenda: lobbying senior House members for votes for the position of Speaker of the House, 2012. And before the year was over, Weatherford had already secured enough votes to be elected speaker.

Now, Weatherford seems like the kind of guy that makes for a highly electable politician: fresh faced, handsome, well liked, and well spoken. The 27- year-old rookie legislator has pertinent background since he worked for Alan Bense, a definite plus on the experience side even if he also happens to be married to Bense's daughter.

Or take Mike Weinstein, a Jacksonville Republican currently running for state rep in Jacksonville, who is already seeking support to become Speaker of the House in 2014. Before even being elected to office.

This isn't about Weatherford, or Weinstein for that matter. It is about the rookie rush to become elected Speaker of the House before they demonstrate whether they work effectively as state representatives and the surprising willingness of more experienced legislators to crown them presumptive leaders of the legislative body.

The Speaker of the House is a constitutional officer elected by his peers for a two-year term. He presides over the sessions, manages staff and operations, appoints committee chairs and members, a set of lofty responsibilities that translate into some serious power as well.

Surprisingly, and in spite of the importance of the position, our representatives in Tallahassee are committing to vote for a candidate for speaker days into his new political position as state rep, yet years ahead of the effective date, with little if any tangible proof that the candidate is, and will continue to be, fit to lead the House of Representatives.

Why commit to elect someone five years before you know if they can do the job? There are many individuals that don't last five years in a job – not to mention in a marriage.

There are some lame arguments in favor of this practice. Some politicians say that term limits (four terms of two years each for state reps) make it imperative that they start campaigning for the speaker post early. Others say that if they don't start the campaign for votes immediately, it will be too late, as the decision will be made without their name in the hat.

I don't buy it. We elect U.S. presidents in less time.

An exhaustive Internet search did not produce the rules and regulations for the selection and election of the Speaker of the House. Nor did a phone call to the current Speaker's Tallahassee office, where a staff member could not lead us to where the election procedures could be located. He did, however, offer the following description of the process: "There is a lot of behind the scenes jockeying for votes, then the majority party kind of gets together and decides who they want to be their leader."

Ain't that special.